HBO, not MTV, will rock the vote - "John Adams" & "Generation Kill"

The best movie studio in America is HBO Films. The same way Charles Dickens used novels to shame and ridicule the ruling classes in England, HBO Films working for social change in contemporary American society. Over the course of the next few months, that studio will be taking audiences on a journey – starting with the Boston Massacre in the mini-series “John Adams” and ending with the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in the mini-series “Generation Kill”. Along the way, they will stop in Florida in November of 2000 for the movie version of the case of Bush v. Gore for the presidency of the United States in the movie “Recount”. By the time the trip is over, anyone who watched either of the three will psyched to cast their vote in November; fired up and ready to go, if you will.

I saw the first two installments of “John Adams” this past weekend and I can safely say two things: I can hardly wait for the next two installments this Sunday and anyone associated with the production needs to make room on the mantel for an Emmy. It’s that good. I’m not only saying this because the brilliance, toughness, and integrity of John Adams, Sam Adams, John Hancock, and the Sons of Liberty make me proud to be from the Bean. It’s also because the first two installments were the best-written, best-acted, best-directed, and most authentic period pieces since “Deadwood” and “Rome” (also on HBO). Also because the exhaustive work done by historian David McCullough in his book on John and Abigail Adams allows the viewer to see, hear, and feel how hard it was just to survive in those days, much less successfully plan a secret insurgency and independence movement.

We come to understand that there was actually a time in American history before the Constitution and the Bill of Rights – a time before there was such a thing as an American – when people in the original colonies were forced to allow British soldiers to live in their homes, when colonists weren’t allowed to assemble, keep guns, engage in free trade, or disagree with the King of England. We learn that the American Revolution was fought as a war against the tyranny of the king and for the right of self-determination. We hear, for the first time anywhere on earth, that “all men are created equal”, and we are bothered by the idea of our forefathers living under military occupation (even though we know it won’t last).

Fast forward to “Generation Kill”, based on a book by “Rolling Stone” reporter Evan Wright who spent two months embedded with Marines in Iraq, which will be broadcast in early summer. The exact same way we saw British troops arrogantly doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted in the colony of Massachusetts before their defeats at Lexington and Concord, I suspect we will see American Marines (mis)behaving in Iraq before the battle of Fallujah. It will be impossible for anyone not to draw the obvious comparisons between Iraqis fighting the American occupation and our fighting the tyranny of King George’s taxation without representation (while treating colonists like second-class citizens).

By the time someone has finished watching both mini-series, that person will be good and ready for “Recount”. And once a (Democrat) person lives through the nightmare of Florida 2000 all over again, that (Democrat) person will do everything possible to make sure there isn’t a repeat. That whole episode was an embarrassment to you, to me, and to Americans everywhere. People were clowning us all over the world saying that the U.S., the very model of freedom and democracy, had forgotten the central idea of the democratic process: That every vote must be counted because every vote matters.

I understand that we shouldn’t be getting our history from Hollywood, but in the case of David McCullough and Evan Wright, I’m willing to make exceptions. After all, it’s not like we’re talking about Mel Gibson in “The Patriot,” riding to re-join his troops while holding a tattered American flag which Betsy Ross hadn’t even sewn yet. These writers know of what they speak and the actual events they wrote about were dramatic enough not to require much (if any) embellishment. As for “Recount”, I don’t mind if the events of those few weeks in Florida are exaggerated for effect because the story stands as a cautionary tale for those millions of young voters coming into the process for the first time. Many of them were barely out of elementary school back in 2000 and probably weren’t paying attention to butterfly ballots, hanging chads, or that vile Katherine Harris. Mark my words: This November it will be HBO, not MTV, that truly rocks the vote.